12/06/2026
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It was not disease, but heat that killed eight lions in the Gir and Amreli districts in Gujarat in May, according to Gujarat forest minister Arjun Modhwadia.
According to a report by The Indian Express on June 5, samples tested at the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre contained no traces of the infectious canine distemper virus (CDV), or Babesia, a tick-borne protozoan disease.
“Neither CDV nor Babesia was found…Out of the 17 lions that were quarantined, 12 have been released, and the rest are healthy,” the report quoted Modhwadia as saying.
Modhwadia had earlier said that the lion deaths had occurred due to a suspected Babesia outbreak. There were also concerns that a combination of CDV and Babesia may have killed the lions. Following the deaths of eight lions in and around the Gir area, 17 lions had been quarantined and isolated for treatment.
On Saturday, June 6, The Hindu reported the minister as saying that it was summer heat that killed the eight lions.
“The eight cubs died due to heat and the weakness that heat causes. Those with low immunity died. The Babesia parasite did not cause it,” The Hindu quoted the minister as saying.
Though a lioness died on June 4, it was due to pregnancy-related complications and not a disease outbreak, the minister said, per The New Indian Express.
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